I've had a dream perfume in the back of my mind for several years now. I recently described it in a post on another topic: it's a "very green jasmine, bright and sparkling and just a bit indolic, over masses of dusty incense and a tiny dollop of dark woods". Does that sound lovely or disgusting? Despite the fact that I've been thinking about it long enough that I can now "smell" it in my mind, I'm not sure. I've tried to replicate it by layering various incense fragrances over Bruno Acampora's Jasmin, but I haven't found the right mix yet.
Anyway, Maltesia commented that we should do a poll on reader's dream perfumes, and as I've a slight cold at the moment and can't smell a thing, today is as good a day as any. If you've got a dream perfume, do describe it, and if you haven't, feel free to make one up on the spot.
The image, by the way, shows one of the 10 bottle designs for Bond no. 9's recent Andy Warhol Union Square. I think Bond should do the bottle design for my dream perfume, don't you? In opaque celadon green, maybe, with white iris blossoms and dark green leaves? Extra points for anyone who comes up with a great name for my jasmine-incense number, and obviously, triple-extra-bonus points for anyone who comes up with the juice.
Update: Quadruple-extra-bonus points go out to Marilynn, who could not sleep last night so spent her time designing the bottle for my dream perfume. She managed to get my white jasmine on the label while maintaining a suitably "Andy Warhol-ish" feel to the design. I've had to resize the picture so it is hard to make out, but it says "Now Smell This" along the bottle cap.
Hmm, I never thought about what I want…
it was always about 'if I like this one or not'
a good topic, Robin.
I gotta think about my desires now…LOL
Hmm..My dream perfume would be a cool icy tuberose (the kind that appears in Tuberose Criminelle) and maybe other white flowers with cloves -sort of like Jar's Diamond Water (or my memory of diamond water)..but with woods and incense and a bit of patchouli.
(Also it should be cheaper than diamond water..:))
My dream perfume… something that breaks ground and can become a classic. I haven't been caring much for most of the new perfumes lately. I don't know the notes, but I imagine it smells “alive” on skin. Like real living notes and not perfume oils.
Does that make sense? lol
Hey, with your name you need a dream jasmine perfume!
Yes, cheaper! In fact, my 2nd dream perfume would be JAR Bolt of Lightning at a price I can afford
Yes, I remember loving bolt of lightning too (though I don't quite remember the scent..:()
LOL — I don't remember it very clearly either! I just liked it, and knew I'd never get any.
Is there an older scent that you feel smells “alive”?
Going by the full bottles I actually splash out on, I seem to be searching for the perfect pale green amber.
If I could commission a perfect scent, though, I think I'd ask Francis Kurdjian to design a wistful carnation and vanilla scent, overlain with powdery leaf greens and iris, and underpinned by a burnt brown wood. It would come in a Parfum d'Empire bottle, with pale green juice and label.
Now I'm all dissatisfied…
Well would you know it – I've been thinking about the same thing lately! Out of a couple DPs, I'd first have my orange blossom one done. The skeleton strikingly resembles yours, except the star of mine is o.b., obviously.
The perfume starts very green, almost bracing, leading to a heart of ob, honey and light spices to keep it from being too sweet (although I like sweet, this one would be only marginally so). It would then literally dry down to dry dusty woods (as opposed to chunky) overlaid with scintillating incense and, to dirty things up a bit for that sweaty effect, a pinch of cumin and possibly some indolic floralcy? The perfume ought to be on the dark side but not too much so, and as you may have noticed, (which I'm afraid wouldn't work that well in practice as it does in my mind) it is supposed to have a changing development evoking the different times of day. (I should have submitted my conceptual crap copy for Les Eaux Faux, I know, LOL). The main idea, anyway, is that of different facets of floralcy. I dare you not to burst out laughing!
As for yours, I'd simply call it My Jasmine and assuming you ever have it done, I'd buy it on the spot!
My dream cologne would be really metallic. It would have some gritty metal notes (not cold, I'm talking like iron here). And then it would mix with some wet and almost-moldy woods, and maybe even a vague white floral note to back it up. And then add some raspebrry green tea to the mix.
Basically I want Escada Magnetism with biger cojones, and raspberry+tea instead of grape.
I would love a perfume that smelled like toast with currant jelly, but in an abstract way that wouldn't make me hungry all day. In the opening it could have some lemon peel and a touch of grapefruit. In the heart I would like toast, currant jelly, star anise and nutmeg. It wouldn't be sweet, but it would have the warmth of toasted, slightly burnt bread and the tang of currant. If all of the other notes could fade away gradually and in the end leave just bread, and a light wood, like that of a bread board, that would be magical, like making toast backwards. That is my dream perfume.
I agree about the Bond bottles; IMHO they are spectacular.
As for a “dream” fragrance, I can honestly say that I prefer variety over that one elusive scent that would be my dream-come-true. That's not to say it might be out there; I just haven't found it yet.
I have no dream.
Am I creatively broke? I just love what I've found already, and can't conceive of wanting more but different. I ask myself the samething about wine, what would my dream wine taste like? I dunno, there's piles of different kinds of wine and their differences make them taste good. I can't imagine a crisp but velvety, sweet but tannic, refreshing but full-bodied, still and sparkling wine. What if the perfect one exists and I have it already. Is that happy or sad?
A difficult subject, but a worthy one. I can only say that my dream perfume, if I think about it, is probably based on what I've smelled and liked so far (not much) – and how much better it could be if I had a larger perfume library, both in my mind and on my dresser..)
But anyway. At the moment, I can say that I've been longing for something spicy, but not sweet. I've smelled SL Rousse and Arabie, but they are just too sweet for me. So, I think, unsweet spices, leather, definitely a base of wood and uncloying incense (is there such a thing?), and maybe a trace of something earthy in the drydown. Something along the lines, definitely not a summer scent – although on some chilly summer nights it could be possible.
And love your idea of jasmine, although not fond of wearing jasmine myself. At one of my previous places of residence, there was a jasmine bush right beside the entrance door, and every night coming home from work I would smell it – it was lovely!
This is my first time posting, but I was lured out by your lovely dream perfume. It sounds like a dream place for me as well, perhaps a ruined temple in the jungle. Angor Wat — do they have jasmine growing there? I suppose that scent would have to have the scent of wet stone in it as well as the wood and incense. The bottle sounds great, and you could call it Jungle Temple or Temple Ruiins. Lately I've been craving green and incense, so this is right up my alley.
Great idea, Robin! I want yours, and I want mine, too: Let's see — it would be a warm skin scent, sandal-woody, and yet ethereal, too, deepened with a whiff of delicate incense and lifted by a touch of creamy iris and almost-blown, dark Bulgarian rose. How's that for a fragrance dream come true???
P.S. Can anyone think of a fragrance that's already out there that comes close??
I'm not at all sure if the individual notes I like would work together at all, or it'd end up some hideous stinky mess. Or indeed if they'd balance in the right order so to speak.
I'd quite like something that starts off grassy, but with a bit of berry fruitiness (a little sweet, not cloying). Moves into cinnamonness and ends with tobacco and violet.
Is floralcy a real word? Can we make it a real word? I love it!
That sounds so appealing – I want some! Burnt toast and/or roasted nuts with something jammy (not too sweet) sounds great.
LOL — sorry to have made you unhappy! Do wonder why there isn't more pale green juice instead of so much pink & purple!
My oh my — you've thought yours out way better than mine! But yes, must at least chuckle at “different facets of floralcy”!!! That is Prix Eau Faux material for sure.
Wow, yours is seriously interesting! I need to try Escada Magnetism again.
My dream perfume would be a spicy woody oriental fragrance. I would like a very spicy soft opening, with clove, cinnamon and nugmet. At the heart notes it'd have benzoin, some dashes of almond and vanilla, and musk. And at the basenotes it'd have aoud, musk and vetiver.
I'd be bottled at an Hermessence bottle, and the name would be Oud Dream. I'd like to be inspired in the fabric silk, and I'd love that Jean Claude Ellena develop it!
Hermes, here's my tip for the next Hermessence fragrance rsrsrsrsrsrsrsrsrsrs
This brings to mind Luca Turin's latest post on NZZ Folio about a custom perfume from profumo.it. There are 7 different categories to choose from, like floral, spice, fruit, animalic, etc – you pick one of each and the perfumer blends it for you. Here are my quick pics: tuberose, mint, juniper, lemon, hay, labdanum and ambergris. When I read the list, I don't know if it would smell any good – they are ingredients I love, but do they go together? I'll stick with Carnal Flower!
That sounds so lovely! I'd like a bottle of that too.
Oh, I'm not planning to “commit” to mine either, LOL!
I think it's probably happy! I have all kinds of dream chocolates too — always wanting what I can't have. Can't be healthy.
Have you tried Frapin Caravelle Epices? And know there are other unsweet spice scents that might qualify, but none of them are popping to mind now. Will have to think about it more.
Wish I had a jasmine bush next to my door!
Jirish, we must be twins — Angkor Wat is my dream vacation destination too. Sure, let's throw in some wet stone as well
Another interesting combination. I have the same problem w/ mine: not sure if it wouldn't horrify me if I was actually presented with it. I'd probably be a lousy fragrance designer.
Gosh, there must be something at least vaguely similar, but I'm not coming up w/ anything offhand.
Uh, yes, forgot to say that JCE is more than welcome to make mine as well, LOL…but then, I'm not picky. I'll take it from most anybody
Yes, I read that one — I'd like to try his! They ought to market it.
I can't decide if your combo would smell good either. Would be interesting, that is for sure!
I Love JCE Minimalistic Style, so that's why I'd like to see him making my perfume; it'd be like a challenge, because I'd like it to smell soft, but very sexy, like silk. It'd have the Vetiver from Serge Lutens Vetiver Oriental, the benzoin a la Bois d'Armenie, the clove from Black Cashmere and the Oud from White Aoud.
But I'd also accept Tom Ford to develop my fragrance rsrsrsrsrsrs
But i think my fragrance dream won't be a dream that come true
So I accept suggestions on oriental fragrances with clove evident, since It's one of my favorite note.
I think my dream perfume is always the one I'm wearing since I only wear one at a time. Perhaps it should be a mixture of all the great fragrances I've ever used: Jicky, Vent Vert, Je Reviens, Mystère, Givenchy III, Cinnabar, Mitsouko, Calandre, Coco, Parfum Sacré …(others that don't come to mind just now) and more recently Fleurs d'Oranger. I'm currently very happy with Tubéreuse Criminelle. I want nothing else.
Henrique, that comes close to my dream perfume.. and then for my version I would replace the clove for ginger, would ad a perfect rose to the heart, a rose with a superb scent and..some cedar to the base notes as a smoky touch.
Then another sort of matching perfume but matching as an opposite with mint leaves and lime leaves in the topnotes, the heartnotes consisting of orangestem and sandalwood, and the basenotes warm baked bread, fresh roasted coffeebeans, honey, milk and sugarcoated almonds.
But that was only one dream… I hope you did not mind Henrique.
I've loved your suggestion Marianne
It'd be very interesting to see how it'd affect the composition that I've suggested.
Lovely Bond bottle there – I confess to liking the bottles more than the jus (with the exception of Chinatown)…Robin, your green-jasmine indolic sparkler sounds lovely. Mine would be the love child of Bigarade (the original) and JCE's new one…with a little touch of incense/ spice in it to warm things up on the drydown – but not too much – imagine bitter oranges and Constant Comment tea (no sugar) with some green in there to keep it real…then a little warm woods with that spice (and just a touch of honey?), I think, to anchor it, give it some elegance and keep it from fizzing into the stratosphere. I'm thinking a very adult scent – more the essence of the orange rather than a citrus bomb. Throw in the blossom and the leaves and I think I would be over the moon!
I would like the bottle to be tall and rounded Venetian glass with a charming little golden spiral cap, like a stylized orange peel…and a deep wax-green velvet ribbon. I would call it Lido for no other reason than I love Lido, especially in very early autumn, when it's still quite warm (but not too warm) with a golden haze over the Adriatic…
I love the idea of 'making toast backwards'!:-) Delightful!
Henrique …and perfumer I would ask Olivia Giacobetti for the second one..
yuzu, driftwood, agave, salt, smoke, black currant. maybe a little rosemary. not so much a dream as simply what i'm in the mood for now – vaguely beachy without drowning in hawaiian tropic or trying too hard to evoke an exclusive locale.
Oh I feel so inspired by reading all this… it's too bad but I have to go to sleep. Mamabear my bottle has to be designed and made in Venice too – mine in blue and gold, royal blue becoming acqua blue with a golden cap in oriental style.
I have a name for your *dream* perfume:
Reve de Jasmin Vert
Ah, that is a worthy dream, I'd take a bottle.
J, that is a deadly mix, maybe! I think of you always in Fleurs d'Oranger.
Mamabear, that sounds very compelling. Even just the bitter orange w/ the tea and the green sounds wonderful to me.
Interesting combination, I'd like to smell that too. Sounds sort of like a more complicated version of Andree Putman…
everyone's fragrances sound so nice. I can imagine smelling them, but I wish we could smell all of these in real life.
Juliet Has a Gun Lady Vengeance comes closest, I think?!
Green and Incense, we certainly share a dream.
When you find it (or make it) send me a bottle
YSL Opium might be the obvious, but it probably isn't what you had in mind. I never tried Aesop's Marrakech, but it might come closer. Everything else I can think of at the moment w/ lots of clove is based on carnation.
But misses the “ethereal” and “creamy iris”.
Me too!
Your perfume name: “Robin Wood”
OK, OK, maybe something more serious: Jasmine Perdu , Jasmine Comme Il Faut, Soignee, or Woods Raffinee.
My dream perfume? Well, I have different dreams, but for now, I'd like a green, fresh opening that dries down to creamy woods. I can smell it when I close my eyes. A light, brisk opening, an herbal middle that's round and not too sweet, but feminine, and a creamy drydown that makes you inhale deeply to get it over your palate. Nothing sticky, but totally memorable.
Not dream perfumes, really, but scents I keep wishing I'd find in perfume, and that I can't quite believe don't already exist:
For Spring — the scent of the flowers on my Myer's Lemon tree, especially as they come to me unexpectedly on the breeze, mixed with the new green grass, a bit of sweet Texas Mountain Laurel, and warm earth.
For Summer — Jasmine Tea. Specifically, the amazingly fruity and fragrant green jasmine pearl tea I just bought and have been drinking daily. Not the generic “green tea” scent that has been decided upon in the mass market — real green tea, that dry, slightly flinty flavor that somehow both magnifies the jasmine and rounds out it's indoles into fruit. And just a brief moment of lemon on top, please.
Great article! Lots of food for thought!
I have a phantom perfume that hopefully, someday, I will discover. I don't know the specific notes, but it must be classically floral, and must conjure for me cool mornings in Florence, overlooking the buildings from my roof. It must contain a clear, pure green that is reminiscent of freshly cut stems, and have an underlying base of soft woods and musk. No sandalwood, though. And it absolutely cannot be sweet, but delicacy is necessary. And ethereal. I know it's out there, I just haven't found it yet.
And one more… a scent from my childhood that I would love to have made…
Predominantly orange blossom (stem and leaves and all, in total agreement with a previous poster), fresh, ripening eucalyptus, and still-green strawberries ripening on the vine. And the lightest hint of dry wheat in the base.
Everyone wants green today, it must be the coming of spring! I love creamy woods.
I'll skip Robin Wood, LOL…maybe Jasmine Perdu. Although in the US that makes everyone think of chicken, right?
bartamy — I want that one, too please! I can't imagine a more perfect spring/early summer scent…
Can we make the eucalyptus the kind that you smell on those huge trees with the long elegant leaves? Especially the ones that line Highway 1 on the Northern California coast…
Eucalyptus in perfume is never anything like the smell of a grove of Eucalyptus trees, unfortunately! I adore that smell. I'll take your scent w/o the strawberries
that sounds gorgeous! I love those color combinations…
have a good night!
I like that idea for summer (without the spice or honey to anchor it) but I'm finding that I'm liking citrus bolted down with a little sumpin' sumpin' these days….of course I absolutely LOVE JCE's Cologne Bigarade…so who knows?
That would be Early Spring in NW Georgia, locally known as wild honeysuckle, wild roses and damp earth on a warm night in early May. Make it, and They Will Purchase.
Yes, Ahtex, on the tree! It has to be! Wood and all!
And Robin… strawberry in perfume? Blech. But I just need the barest hint of it, because I grew up surrounded by all three groves. Oh, and a small chicken farm but that would not fit!
Ah yes, the L'Artisan — the notes are almost exact! You know, I think I'm anosmic to something in that one — I smell a little puff of jasmine and then I'm done… : ( Will have to try again.
Hey, but you're free to like strawberry you know — you don't have to “blech” just because of me! But I'll also leave out the chicken farm, LOL — that CAN'T smell good.
It isn't quite the smell of my favorite tea (Upton Yin Hao Jasmine) but it's reasonably close, even has that tiny hint of something smoky like you get in the unbrewed tea leaves. But it is very light. I do wish they'd do an extreme version.
I adore cypress, when I can even make it out in a perfume — which isn't often.
I sort of liked “different facets of floralcy”. But I tend to talk that way on an every day basis, so….
Oh, but I liked it too!
March coined some other word which I liked even better, but of course now I can't remember what it was. Florality, maybe?
No of course not, and I'm not.
But I don't want it to be sweet. Sweetness would ruin it.
Ok here it goes:
Mine should have top notes of lemon flowers, linden flowers ,Tangerine and grapefruit.
Middle notes of Violet blossoms, violet leaf, tomato leaf and ginger
And basenotes of Cedar (or vetiver or both!), a bit of leather (the smell of ultraexpensive handbag, very common here in leather country), a tiny dollop of the most expensive patchouli you could lay your hands on and white musk for that skin accord thing that works wonders on my chemistry.
There you have it. Out of my system! thanks R for giving us the chance to express!
My Dream bottle would be a very darkAND frosted blue glass bottle based on the one of the discontinued Gap blue No.655 for him
Have you tried Cinnabar by Estee Lauder?
Are you talking about Opium Pour Homme Edt, Edp, or Opium Pour Femme? I have the Opium PH Edp and the Opium PF Edt. The PH edp to me is very sweet and my nose can't detect any clove. The PF edt is delicious, but i smell cinnamon on it.
Celestia, I've always wanted to try it, but here it isn't available. Can you tell me your perceptions about it?
hm…one that I could think of now is one with a very green opening, something like fresh cut grass smell plus white ginger lily/ daffodil plus ginger, then there's bamboo and lotus, and a base of sycamore or anything green-woody….
so i was on the bond website a while back, and you can buy a giant box of all 10 designs for like 1500 bucks or something. i can't imagine commiting to any frag like that (or for that matter shelling out that much for perfume just to sit around)
i've never thought about my dream perfume. i dont think i could ever just find one i loved enough to leave all others by the wayside. BUT, that being said, a really dry coconut (ie not too tropical and sweet, if that's possible. i have faith) w/ some blond woods. i think that's my dream today. ask me tomorrow.
I have one that I've had in my head for a long time now. I'd call it Nightbloom, and it would be made up of flowers that give off their most intoxicating scents in summer twilight: nicotiana, lilac, phlox, daphne, maybe a hint of nightblooming jasmine. It sounds nice in my imagination, but maybe those things would smell hideous together? Anyway, this would be a re-creation of my fondest childhood summer memories, which are not to do with the beach, but playing in the backyard during long sunsets, and catching whiffs of garden plants.
The other one I imagine, is one made of limes. Not men's aftershave lime with herbs & spice, but a woman's lime fragrace. One that also had lime blossom (not linden, but the actual citrus blossom). Maybe some lemon & orange blossoms thrown in too.
I know exactly what I want for my dream perfume. I want to be able to smell the ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, Peggotty Beach in Scituate, MA to be exact. I want it to be infused with the smell of beach plum roses which are sweet and light and can grow in sand. I want to smell the sun which would be a warm honey-ish kind of fragrance. There could be a tiny bit of seaweed, low tide smell (which I absolutelylove) to dirty things up just a little, little bit. Absolutely no suntan lotion smell, no coconut, nothing like that. I would call it?? Any suggestions?
hi! this is the first time i'm posting, even though i've been reading for more than a year…
the elusive dream perfume… mine would not be dirty at all, but fresh in a “dark” sort of way if that makes any sense at all… fresh but sexy and a little androgynous – sandalwood and ginger in the heart, some yuzu peel and a very black-peppery/spicy (?) scent of bergamot (i think bergamot smells a bit like yuzu peel + black peppercorns, freshly cracked) in the beginning mingling with the earthy/hot tang of freshly cut ginger root, a tiny, tiny bit of clove, the way it smells straight out of the spice bottle, bruised rosemary leaf, and almost incense-y/bitter/herbaceous lavender weaving in and out of it to give it a masculine feel, and a little vanilla in the base so it's not entirely cold the whole time… but the woodiness of sandalwood and the hot/cold feeling of ginger is key… no fruit, no sweetness, no flowers, just some androgynous, sandalwood/incense-y juice with spicy/herbaceous/woody undertones, a little “black peppered” bergamot in the beginning to make it less monotonous, and a little vanilla (just a little bit… and not a sweet vanilla at all!) to anchor it and give it depth.
ideally this fragrance would be equally intriguing and slightly surprising worn with an elegant black evening gown and stilettos or with my favorite white tank top and jeans. in an ad copy it would be described as mysterious, a little unapproachable yet intoxicating, and hot and cold at the same time.
it should be produced in extrait only for maximum lasting power and silliage, in a navy blue tinted blown-glass bottle (kind of like the agent provocateur ones) with a square, silver stopper (think with love… hillary duff, generally, minus the cheesy facets and filigree detailing around the rim, very smooth, cold, modern yet a little organically shaped), but should come with a matching, miniature bottle with a rollerball and pouring funnel, in a little navy blue silk pouch so i can travel with it!
well that was a little long-winded and rambling, and sounded a bit like a marketing idea for les eaux faux… but we're allowed to dream until maybe this fragrance is actually created, right?
love this blog by the way, i read it every morning!
i've had that kind of frag in mind too. no ozonic/marine note would be the first order of business. i think you should call it Peggotty Beach. but it sounds exactly like something i'd like to wear. i might layer it over actual coppertone (even though you said no sunscreen smell) for some authenticity.
I would love a mouth-puckeringly dry combination of woods, white smoke and lavender, with just the slightest touch of something fruity. Like Jardin sur le Nil at a higher altitude–or Jean Claude Ellena with an evil bite.
No, I haven't, will have to! Thanks!
I hadn't even thought of that, but now that you mention it. . . . The chicken brand has an 'e' at the end, but that won't stop people from calling it “light as a feather,” or have the ads say, “apply liberally to juicy breast.” Sigh. Well, maybe I'll have to follow the line of “Je souviens Jasmine” And now I've run out of all my French. Oh, no, wait, there it is! “Soutien gorge de Jasmine!”
Marrakech smells only of cloves to me. I actually bought it because i too love clove but i might as well have bought clove essential oil as this is what it smelt like on my skin. I prefer Black Cashmere.
Clarestella, I know that beach! lol Your dream perfume sounds beautiful…
Bvlgari Aqua Por Homme rather reminds me of the surrounding bays/coves in that area. With a bit of diesel fuel thrown in and the odd, sharp note of old treated wood drying in the sun.
Cheezwiz, yours sounds wonderful.
I looove nicotania. Do you (or does NST) know any good perfumes that have it? I use The Body Shop Tobacco Flower Home Oil sometimes and breathe it in … great great scent.
I was thinking of Pour Femme, but can't swear I can smell clove either — has been awhile, & can only remember it is spicy.
My, will have to run Soutien gorge de Jasmine through babelfish…
That sounds so nice — I love linden & citrus & tomato leaf. I'll leave the patch out of my bottle
There are too few grassy-green scents altogether, everything is always galbanum/stemmy/leafy.
Silversheep, I can't imagine anyone going through 10 bottles of it, but I suppose if you were a bottle collector or an Andy Warhol fanatic, you might want all 10?
I'm sure a dry coconut could be done, but don't think anyone has attempted it so far. All the coconut scents I know are Mounds-bar-sweet.
I dont know if I have a Dream perfume. If you dream about something, you are sure to not be able to find it ?
But three times I have found a “perfect perfume for my nose” …
Biche Dans L'absinthe – Gaubin Daudé was the first one. Spicy and leather. A running deer in a bollywood movie.
Teint de neige – Lorenzo Villoresi … the XXI century version of “Nuit de Noel” .. have you ever smell a ballerina walking on the snow during the night ?
Brin de réglisse – Hermes … ok this perfume is above my dream. A warm and fresh contemplation. It s like laying down and looking the star during a fresh summer night in Provence.
I am still waiting a dreaming flagrance around “Angelique” ..
“Angelique Noire” is a wonderfull masterpiece but too sophistacated to be my dreaming perfume. “Angelique Lilas” is quite good but the Angelique is not so much present. “Angelique sous la pluie” is near my dream, but I would like testing a powder base not a leather one.
I am still waiting a “ginger” dreaming perfume, for the moment all is too sophisticated and I still prefer the quite cheap “Roger Gallet” “Eau de gingembre” even if my snoobery cannot accept it.
There are a few I can think of w/ similar inspiration, although perhaps they don't smell like you envision yours — Ineke Evening Edged in Gold, Stila Midnight Bloom, and I would swear Strange Invisible Perfumes has one too but can't think of which it is.
I want the lime blossom!!!
I haven't grown it in a few years, but the smell is truly incredible. I can't think of a perfume (didn't even know about the TBS) but there must be one.
I don't know that particular beach, but to me, CB I Hate Perfume At The Beach is the perfect Atlantic Beach scent, but WITH the coppertone. Mr. Hulots Holiday is beach w/o suntan oil, but doesn't remind me of the east coast beaches of the US. CSP Aqua Motu is my go-to for a San Diego beach.
So no, I'm no help!!
Hi and welcome! You've thought your scent out so well and described it so perfectly that someone ought to be able to make it from your comment. For some reason I can't “smell” it in my head…but I'll bet you can?
Interesting! Have you tried Brin de Reglisse yet, and what did you think of it? (Not that it fits your description at all, just wondering if you liked the lavender in BdR)
A shame your first “found dream” is gone
I do so miss the GD line.
And joining you in waiting for the perfect ginger! I need a bottle of the R&G, for that matter.
When I first began my career in fragrances, I bought a box of 12 Estee Lauder miniature perfumes. In it were Cinnabar and Spellbound. While my favourite fragrance category is definitely not oriental and spicy, both of these are interesting and I like them. I think Henrique would like those two as well. Cinnabar has an orange, mandarin, clove topnote with a rose, cinnamon, carnation, and jasmine heart. The drydown is patchouli, incense, vanilla and sandalwood. Spellbound has carnation, cardamom, and amber vanilla. I would also suggest Winter Delice which is a discontinued Aqua Allegoria by Guerlain. Its gingerbread spiciness might also appeal to Henrique.
Henrique, maybe you will like Feminite du Bois, Shiseido, for that has cloves and nutmeg and and such beautiful cedarwood.
Oh, Marilynn's bottle design is beautiful!
Dream perfume of the moment would be “Youth Dew Amber Nude Golden Light”, a welcomed flanker by me. For spring the amber would be slightly toned down to make room for some very light, very sheer and very dry fruityness to play with the dark and the chocolate notes -yellow pear maby- and to make the scent wearable throug spring and through summer. What exactly would that perfect fruit be, I'd leave for Tom Ford to decide, but it would have to be something yellow or pale green. (No citruses or “freshness” here though).
The sweetness and power would still come from the original notes, and though it was a flanker it would still unmistakenly smell like YDAN. I dream here of a grown-up scent and of a sofisticated scent, just some fruit in there without girlyness.
The bottle would be the same but pale yellow -you would see the potent bronze juice through it- with a matte golden top and belt around it.
Marilynn –
What a lovely design! Captures Robin's scent visually. Now, get some sleeeep!
Sleep well Mamabear. Just looked at you website and what a nice contrast…perfumes…versus hardware…:-D
I haven't. I've tried Andy Tauer's Reverie au Jardin, and as lovely as that hot/cold lavender is, it's still too “squishy” for me overall.
…sorry, my english.. not flanker BY me, but flanker FOR me… obviously…
Yes. . .*breathes heavy sigh*. . .
Black Cashmere is my favorite Clove fragrance. I really love it! But I'm looking for another clove fragrance this time. I've remembered yesterday that mania, the original woman's fragrance (from the dark gray package), has a light incensy sweet clove, but I also have this one already
Hah! Quite provoking, your call for entries… who could resist it!
I am looking for something for a while now which I can't find:
A fragrance dominated by GREEN MINT (which has nothing to do with tooth pasty methol!) in combination with NEROLI.
I'd love it Mediterranean, a bit like an Ellena Jardin, but less bright, more melancholic. I'd like the orange blossom all the way through the heart note accompanied by CLARY SAGE and JUNIPER BERRY. The whole thing should smell like I imagine an evening walk on Isola Bella (without the smell of the lake, though). The heart should also have sth powdery, Mimosa and some Rose.
I love CEDAR so that should appear in the later heart at some stage. An ambery drydown with lots of LABDANUM & some TONKA or VANILLA, though not sure how that goes with cedar.
The most important would be to find an Orange Blossom & Green Mint fragrance. Any information on whether such a scent exists is welcome.
By the way, have you noticed Now Smell This is mentioned in the current edition of Times Magazine in a short article about Luxury Perfumes?
There's also a picture showing a selection of some 5 niche fragrances by Bonds, L'Artisan P. etc. described as “recalls Stalla McCartney” or “recalls Thierry Mugler Angel”. Very funny.
Lars: perhaps you would like Coriolan by Guerlain. It has bergamot, lemon leaves, neroli (orange blossom), and clary sage in the top note. Middle has juniper berries, ginger, nutmeg and ylang. The base is patchouli, vetiver, benzoin and immortelle. Herba Fresca has a green tea and spearmint heart note so you might like it too.
Thanks Celestia!
I tried HF many months ago and did like it, but I then thought Mentafollia was more my thing (discontinued…).
I remember vaguely that I liked Coriolan when it was still in the regular Guerlain range. I have to try it again! But unfortunately it so pricey now…
Cheers, L
I would love a dark, spicy and fairly dry carnation fragrance, not powdery, more along traditionally masculine lines. Carnation, clove, incense, cedar, vetiver, oakmoss and maybe something bracing and medicinal to add a little sharpness and brightness – sage or lavender or something… That would be glorious. I'd pay good money for that.
I love carnation, but they usually turn out a bit insipid on me. On the bright side, Roger & Gallet are finally being distributed in Sweden again, so now I'm indulging in their carnation soap.
Hey, that's a great idea. YDAN (besides being discontinued) was really stronger & sweeter than many people (including me) wanted.
You might like BdR, not sure — but certainly the lavender note itself is interesting & worth trying.
Yep, saw it!
That carnation soap is so lovely! Love most of their soaps that I've tried, actually.
What do you think of Floris Malmaison for carnation?
I've tried the Ineke & Stila, and although they are both nice, sadly they don't match what I'm imagining in my head. I can't think of other fragrances that use nicotiana, which is too bad because it gives off the most divine scent!
Oooh the Meyer Lemon sounds great!
Have you tried L'Artisan's The pour L'Ete? The notes are very similar to what you describe: hint o' lemon in green jasmine tea. I found it very refreshing when I tried it.
Yes, some notes are omnipresent others never used! I guess it all comes down to marketing, as many people seem scared of mint cause they think it smells like mouthwash which isn't true. I think mint like in those Auqas Allegoria isn't really about menthol but other essences derived from the same plant. I love the green, lively freshness of it.
To be honest, I have no clue if my construction makes sense, just a combination of notes I like and which could (with the eception of tonka/vanilla) grow together in a garden.
Figured you would have, and sorry, I can't think of any others either.
Q, you might want to try Biehl gs02, if you haven't already. The fresh thyme note is very pretty in the middle, only slightly sweet and quite feminine, and angelica root in the drydown gives it roundness and creaminess, and the citrus in the opening makes it fresh and brisk. It's very spring-like, just like the woods when the trees are budding and waking up from winter. The notes: Absinth, campari, orange, thyme, angelica roots, castoreum, ambergris, tonka been, vanilla.
Yes — the mouthwash/toothpaste/chewing gum thing. It's hard to do it right, but I love it too.
You are extremely sharp. I just got the sample. I love it in the container, but the first day I wore it, I had mixed results. I'd eaten spicy food the night before, so I have to give it another go. But I'm deeply impressed that you hit on exactly that one. Wow. Good on you!
I dream about mimosa with incense and leather and name can be mimosa noir.
Nice name! Hope you'll find it
My dream perfume would be a mix of Frederic Malle's L'Eau d'Hiver with soft notes of Jasmine and Ylang Ylang. Everytime I wear l'Eau d'Hiver, I just want to a spicy jasmine so badly that I've trained my nose to smell a jasmine middle note that isn't there. If anyone knows of a perfume that's comparable to what I've just described, PLEASE let me know.
(I realize jasmine is already one of its notes, but it's not strong enough for my taste. The other notes combined smell like uncooked Indian spices- I'd love for a more jasmine and some ylang ylang to be thrown in too.)
Spicy jasmine: The Different Company Jasmine de Nuit, for one. But it isn't like Hiver. Can't think of one like Hiver.
This article got me thinking…
I have a bottle of the discontinued Bath and Body Works Ylang Ylang and Myrrh lotion (which I love), and layered it under l'Eau d'Hiver. The result was pretty fantastic, I've gotta say.
Hey, good thinking!
Way for me to be a year late…
But I was in the shower this evening, using a Jasmine Vanilla hand soap from Bath and Body Works. I know they tend to get a bad reputation, but I have to wonder, have you tried their Jasmine Vanilla? It's part of the Aromatherapy collection. I don't want to set you up for disappointment, but the first thing I thought of when I smelled it was “incense.” It may not be dark or green enough for your taste, but I would love to know what you think. :]
Interesting, I don't think I've ever smelled anything in their Aromatherapy line. I'll look for it!